Mad Dogs (British TV series)

Lore & Background

The series was commissioned by British Sky Broadcasting after gaining interest from terrestrial networks. Filming took place on location in Majorca in May 2010, costing around four million euros and taking 44 days. The main themes are friendship and growing older; Philip Glenister said it is about ageing and 'getting closer to death'. Photographer David LaChapelle directed three 30-second advertisements for the series.

Reader's Guide

Mad Dogs opened with 1.61 million viewers, the 17th highest rated programme ever for Sky1, and attracted positive reactions from critics, who noted similarities with British gangster films, particularly the 2000 film Sexy Beast. The series centers on four friends—Baxter, Quinn, Rick, and Woody—who reunite in Majorca and are drawn into a drug smuggling operation involving corrupt police and the CIA. The plot spans multiple locations including Majorca, Ibiza, a black site prison in the desert, and Cape Town. The series explores how normal people deal with extreme situations and the fragility of friendship under pressure. Its production was driven by the desire of the four main actors to work together, and the decision to air on Sky was made to avoid content restrictions from terrestrial networks.

Did You Know?

• The series was produced by Left Bank Pictures and co-produced by Palma Pictures.
• A casting note misspelling 'Tony Blair' as 'Tiny Blair' led to six dwarfs auditioning; one was cast in the role.
• The series received a €150,000 grant from the Mallorcan Tourism Foundation.
• The four main actors initially wanted to make a story about a rock band before deciding on Mad Dogs.